Though it focuses on architectural history, the book concerns itself less with issues of design and construction than with the social and cultural context in which the Virginia gentry commissioned their imposing dwellings. In her examination of such places as Stratford Hall, Carter’s Grove, and Gunston Hall—mansions whose grandeur has become synonymous with the image—if not the reality—of life in Colonial Virginia—Mooney illuminates the fortunes, motivations, and aspirations of the wealthy and powerful owners who built their "homes" with the objective of securing their status and impressing the public. In choosing to spend astonishing sums to provide themselves with grand houses that far exceeded their living requirements—in some cases, by a disastrous measure—the owners of these mansions advanced grand claims to social and political prestige.
Clearly and accessibly written, Prodigy Houses of Virginia will appeal not only to architectural and social historians of the Colonial period but also to the general reader interested in these mansions and the people who inhabited them.
Though it focuses on architectural history, the book concerns itself less with issues of design and construction than with the social and cultural context in which the Virginia gentry commissioned their imposing dwellings. In her examination of such places as Stratford Hall, Carter’s Grove, and Gunston Hall—mansions whose grandeur has become synonymous with the image—if not the reality—of life in Colonial Virginia—Mooney illuminates the fortunes, motivations, and aspirations of the wealthy and powerful owners who built their "homes" with the objective of securing their status and impressing the public. In choosing to spend astonishing sums to provide themselves with grand houses that far exceeded their living requirements—in some cases, by a disastrous measure—the owners of these mansions advanced grand claims to social and political prestige.
Clearly and accessibly written, Prodigy Houses of Virginia will appeal not only to architectural and social historians of the Colonial period but also to the general reader interested in these mansions and the people who inhabited them.
Prodigy Houses of Virginia: Architecture and the Native Elite
400
Prodigy Houses of Virginia: Architecture and the Native Elite
400Hardcover
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780813926735 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | University of Virginia Press |
| Publication date: | 02/29/2008 |
| Pages: | 400 |
| Product dimensions: | 7.00(w) x 10.00(h) x 1.25(d) |
| Age Range: | 18 Years |